Reviews: Amboseli Lake Naivasha and Masai Mara Safari

6 Days Experience Kenya safari, visiting the best National Parks,
with a great chance of seeing herds of elephants in Amboseli and
experiencing the abundant wildlife in Masai Mara as well as the
bird life at Lake Naivasha,

This Operator Reviews

Just a note to say how special our safari was. From meeting us at the airport, even with a delay,to the stay at the marvellous Impala hotel, to the safari itself and a final transfer to the airport.

The punctuality by John our guide and Abu our cook plus their attention to detail were admirable. The skills, knowledge and enthusaism was very much appreciated by us both. We saw more animals,with a greater variety, than we could have hoped for. Each day was inspiring and our meals were of local, fresh produce and very tasty.

Finally thanks to Peniel for his tireless efforts to organise this special week and his prompt replies to all our e-mails.

Before our trip we have to admit that we were a little nervous since your operation lesser-known that some of the massive tour operators in the area. However, from the moment we met the team in Arusha, it was clear we had made the right decision and were in for the trip of a lifetime.

Our tour guide, Apollo, was a complete joy to spend time with. He was very knowledgable of the local wildlife and customs and was eager to share his knowledge with us. He was extremely accommodating during the trip - allowing us to stop at any time for any reason and enjoy the trip on our own pace. When three different ATMs in Mtu Wambu happened to be broken, he even lent us cash to hold us over for the next couple days before we could return to a working ATM...incredible.

Our Chef ("Stomach Doctor"), Abu, was equally enjoyable to be around and always had a smile on his face. His food was delicious and provided great comfort after long days on Safari. When we specially requested Banana Pancakes for our final breakfast, Abu happily obliged and made the best Banana Pancakes we'd ever had.

If given the chance to return, we would gladly use this tour operator again and would specifically request the services of Apollo and Abu. We will be recommending your tours to all of our friends. Thank you so much for providing an incredible life changing experience.

I cannot praise the tour operator enough. After I made the initial enquiry on your site Peniel got in touch with me on a timely basis. Although I did receive answers to my enquiries from the other tour companies they were by far the most efficient and offered the best value for money.

All my questions were answered and Peniel told me things I never thought to ask. At our request they added on a few days in Zanzibar after the safari and that to was excellent.

Peniel was in Arusha to meet us when we arrived at the hotel and he explained everything we needed to know. He came to see us again when we got back from the safari to make sure everything went well and to explain the Zanzibar portion of the trip.

Our guide was also outstanding. During the entire safari his eyes were constantly on the landscaping looking for game for us to view. We saw all of the big five up close. We even saw 4 black rhinos thanks to Anton, and I understand they are hard to see. The safari that they offer is 30% cheaper than other tour companies. I was a little concerned that we may get a cut rate safari but that was not the case. The customer service, accommodation, food and our guide was first rate. All of us have no hesitation in recommending this tour operator.

The two-week tour was very well conceived in terms of the order in which the different areas were visited, particularly with respect to the different nature reserves, going from the more modest to the most spectacular, in terms of viewing animals.

Accomodation and food were very good to excellent. Our driver/guide, Apollo was first rate – knowledgeable, fun, and endlessly patient, as well as possessed with an excellent sense of humour.

We had a fabulous time. We had John as our driver guide and Benson as our cook... he is an amazing cook!

We saw Tarangire, Manyara and Serengeti national parks and the Ngorongoro conservation area. It was an amazing safari, John was an excellent guide, the car was an older version landcruiser, but very comfortable and suited to the safari as it had a pop up roof for photographing the animals and comfy seats.

The tent was great and the staff almost always managed to pack up and set up everything before we had a chance to help so we felt lazy but was nice to have it all done for us. We saw all the big 5 plus many other amazing animals and would definately recommend the company to others.

They have an office in Arusha and very competent customer service staff that went beyond duty to help us with going around Arusha to sort our money troubles when our bank had issues sending money from Australia.

Our safari was wonderful!, The Tangerine and the Ngorongoro parks were beautiful and we saw a lot of animals, although Lake Manyara was not so nice, may be because of the season we went, we couldn't see so many animals there.

John our driver was nice and knowledgeable. We also enjoyed the Octagon Lodge, the service was very good and the installation nice.

From breathtaking Ngorongoro hiking to a taste of Kilimanjaro and local village visits, it was truly a life-changing experience.

My driver and tour manager went out of their way to accommodate my whims and made sure that my stay in Tanzania was a pleasant one. Unfortunately I fractured my ankle during one of the hikes I took, but I was taken to the hospital immediately, and taken a great care of.

I would definitely recommend this operator to anyone who's looking for a tour that's much more than just game drives.'

We went on a two day walking – canoeing trip in Arusha National Park. The tour operator also made hotel arrangements for the first three days we were in Arusha.

They stayed in contact for 11 months via email. The person I was in contact with Elifasi and our guide, Apolo Kihwil, meet us at the airport took us to our hotel. On our rest day we visited a school at our request and not part of the paid itinerary this was on their time.

Our guide Apolo was the best we had on our entire trip. He was informative, friendly and had a great sense of humor, we were rewarded with a dream trip my favorite giraffe and several at a time the last bunch we counted eleven, baboons, wart hogs, black and white monkeys, hundreds of thousand of lesser and greater flamingos on big Momella Lake he provide delicious lunches and was infinitely patient while we took photographs.

I would not hesitate to use them on my next trip to Tanzania and would request Apolo as our guide.

They looked after us very well and we were very satisfied with their service. The service provided value for money. The only comment we would make is that the email from them gave us the impression that we would be staying in a lodge but when we arrived we were in a tent. We were satisfied with the tented accomodation, however it could have been made clearer in the original email that it was tented accomodation.

The staff were very kind and helpful.

Trip Operators Response:

Thank you for the client's feedback and contructive comment/suggestion. We are glad that they were very satisfied with the service we provided to them, despite their impression that they would be staying in a lodge instead of a tent.

As per the first enquiry which the clients sent into our company, she stated that she will prefer to stay in Camping Accommodation "Preference: Camping” and the price given to them was based on camping accommodation, and this was stated in the itinerary “Dinner and overnight at the camp”

However, there was a typing error at the end of the itinerary which indicates Lodge accommodation instead of Camping accommodation.

We will try our level best to make sure that this mistake will not happen again.

We have just completed the most amazing holiday in Tanzania. The tour operator was fantastic and I would highly recommend them to any travellers to this area.

Peniel did an excellent job of booking all we required and spending time greeting us and making sure eveything was OK. Our driver guide for our safari Apollo was exceptional. He knew so much about the area and the animals and we saw everything! They offer you a very individualised trip suited to your needs and without having to join a group of strangers.As a small local company they value their clients and we were made to feel special.All the accomodation at the lodges was wonderful and we particularly enjoyed the small Manyara Octagon Lodge unique and friendly with excellent home cooked food.

After having a wonderful safari in southern Africa organised through your webiste, we decided to return again to Tanzania after 45 years.

We booked a 19 day safari to visit six game parks...Selous, Mikumi, Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Tarangari.

Our guide/driver, Hurumu, met us at the Dar airport and drove us to a hotel for our day of jet lag recovery. We drove to Selous first. We're not strangers to East Africa, having first arrived in 1963. By far, Hurumu is the best guide that we've ever had. He was extremely knowledgeable of wildlife, has great game eyes, a good conversationalist, and was very caring for all our needs. He understood our physical age limitations (74) but was not at all solicitous. Cool water was always available. Hurumu had the ability to always get the Toyota into position for the best photograph.

Elifasi, in the office, worked with me to create the itinerary. He also was most helpful. While at Selous we requested an itinerary change. Elifasi made the changes without a problem.

The best of Kenya & Tanzania and they made that experience a reality. They were always on time, concerned about our well being and would without any reservations recommend them! The scenery and game viewing were all memorable and expectations met. Organizing the tour was also without any hassle

The personnel were wonderful people to deal with, from booking, to the guide. Neema was a delight to work with as I made my reservations. She was patient and prompt with answers to any questions I had.

Huruma, my guide was very knowledgable and pleasant. He took the time to inform me on vegetation, birds, animals and history of the Sengetti and Ngorongoro. The food was good.... Ben (our cook) did a great job.

All went smoothly, from being picked up at the airport to the resrvations at the hotel (which they made for me). Everything was taken care of... Huruma made sure I was settled in at the hotel before he left for the evening.

I went solo, a 50 something white woman, and me and _______ (I forget his name), rode around for 5 hours. It was a unbelievable experience.

He was a wonderful guide, I called him the "Mayor" because everybody knew him! He was so popular everywhere we went that I felt completely comfortable, safe, and like an invited family friend.

He showed me 3 or 4 neighborhoods, I met coffee makers, chapati breakfast cooks (had breakfast there with a Masaai family who stopped by!), a traditional herbalist (where I learned the treatment for meconium aspiration, I'm a perinatal pathologist!), herbal pharmacist (where I saw that fenugreek seed is used to facilitate delivery with prolonged labor), local market, fabric seller, and had a delicious lunch at an outside Swahili restaurant. I played with kids, talked with everyone, and really got a great sense of the community.

My guide also is very active in local projects and inspired me to help with a bridge rebuilding project he is spear heading. The bicycle riding was easy and really the only way to get around in these neighborhoods. It was by far the best experience I had in Dar, and one of the best I have had in my many travels in East Africa!

We could not have asked for abetter way to end our incredible adventures in Tanzania. We saw everything and did everything we could have ever imagined. From the big game watching in the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Lake Manyara, to ascending the highly active volcano next to Lake Natron, it was all so unbelievably incredible. A total dream come true!

Our guide Huruma had he most expansive breadth of knowledge of the natural environment, he was a pleasure to talk to. He was also extremely flexible with us as lans often changed for various reasons, but ALWAYS for the better. Huruma made us feel safe and comfortable the whole time. Alex our cook as wonderful as well making sure we had the best quality meals possiblemade from the freshest ingredients.

Choosing a safari operator is tough, but I will just say that I will always recommend these guys. They are very professional and will do everything to make sure you have the best trip possible. Thanks again for our lifetime memories. We will be back, so you will hear from us again.

Thanks Elfasi for all your time, flexibility and support in orchestrating this dream trip.

I am happy to inform you that I was really happy with their services they provided me.

A special thanks and recomendation to the manager Mr Elifasi who was very helpfull. He really did his best to make our stay a nice one : he came with the driver to the airport to pick us up, as well he came along as well to drop us again. He was very invloved and met us various times in the hotel, even onces on a sunday evening.

His guides were very profesionall and friendly. We did not reach the summit of the Kilimanjaro, but we definately can look back to a very nice time, a big part of this was due to the smooth organisation of the operator.

I had a REALLY enjoyable cycle tour with Mejah. It was one of the highlights of my stay in Tanzania and a wonderful way to end my trip.

Mejah's vision for both cycling and encouraging entrepreneurialism in Tanzania are an inspiration. I discovered a lot about parts of Dar Es Salaam that I would never normally be encouraged to visit and I also learnt more about Tanzanian culture and attitudes. Mejah's concern for local people, businesses as well as environmental issues was encouraging and very close to my own interests and concerns.

I really hope that you can encourage and sponsor more of this kind of tourism.

When I come back to Tanzania, this is precisely the kind of thing I would be looking for.

We did the two day safari to Tarangire National Park and the Ngorongoro crater. I was a bit worried at first that as we were taking the cheaper option we would miss out on seeing some animals or that we would still want more at the end - not true.

The 2 days were fantastic, we saw virtually all the animals we hoped to see (including a male lion pee on our jeep), stayed in the fantastic Lodge Safari in our own log fire cabin and by the end of it were ready to head to the beach.

Our tour guide was friendly and very informed.

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Amboseli Lake Naivasha and Masai Mara Safari

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